Is it true that eating carrots is good for eye health? & bull; hello healthy

"Eat carrots so that the eyes are healthy!", So said the people. Since childhood, we've been taught that carrots can keep our eyes healthy. Thus, parents generally include carrots as a mandatory food ingredient for their children. However, is it true that carrots can really improve eye health or is this a myth?

Carrots are rich in vitamin A.

Carrots are fruit vegetables that contain lots of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene (carotenoids) which can improve the health of your eyes. Vitamin A helps the eye to see. This is done by vitamin A by helping convert the light received by the eye into signals that can be transmitted to the brain. This then allows people to see in low light conditions.

When you eat carrots that contain beta-carotene, your body will convert these beta-carotene into vitamin A in the form of retinol. Retinol can be found in eye cells called stem cells. These cells convert the light into images in the brain, so you can see in weak light.

From the above explanation, it can be concluded that vitamin A is necessary for vision. A severe deficiency of vitamin A can cause eye disease, and can even lead to blindness.

It should be noted that vitamin A is divided into two forms, namely:

• Retinoids. This form of vitamin A is usually found in animal food sources, such as liver, fish oil (eg cod-liver oil), and butter. Consumption of foods that contain high amounts of retinoids can cause excess vitamin A in the body and this is not good. Excess vitamin A can cause poisoning, or it can also increase the risk of certain cancers.
• Carotenoids (beta-carotene). Usually found in plant-based foods, such as carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and green leafy vegetables. These carotenoids will be converted into vitamin A in the body. How much beta-carotene to convert depends on how much vitamin A is already in your body. The body will not convert beta-carotene into vitamin A if the body does not need it. So, excess vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene will not make you poisoned.

Is it true that vitamin A can improve eyesight?

It is true that vitamin A is very useful for vision health. In fact, it is needed to support the eye's ability to see. However, according to Professor Algis Vingrys, from the University of Melbourne Department of Optometry and Vision Services, consumption of carrots will not improve your vision if you have adopted a nutritionally balanced diet.

By implementing a balanced nutritional diet, it means that your vitamin A needs are well fulfilled and it is enough to help the eye's ability to see. So, with the additional consumption of carrots which aims to improve your eyesight, this is not something that can produce results, if your consumption of vitamin A is sufficient.

However, consuming carrots or other sources of vitamin A has been shown to improve night vision in people who are deficient in vitamin A in the body or for those who do not have a balanced diet.

Other substances are also needed to improve eye health

An eye study called Blue Mountains in Australia shows that the reduced ability to see in the study participants was more due to age-related damage, not due to a lack of foods containing vitamin A. contains vitamin A.

Beta carotene is good for our eye health as a whole. However, it turned out lutein and zeaxanthin which is found in many green vegetables and carrots, is also necessary to improve the health of your eyes. Lutein and zeaxanthin work together to protect the macula of the eye, so that your eye doesn't lose its sensitivity as you age.

So, not only is the beta-carotene in carrots necessary for maintaining eye health, however lutein and zeaxanthin which is found in green vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and broccoli, is also necessary for eye health. Remember, consuming lots of carrots or vitamin A will not improve your eyesight drastically, but it can help you maintain better eye health. The most important thing is that you adopt a balanced nutritional diet that contains vitamin A, lutein, and zeaxanthin , to maintain the health of your eyes until old age.